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According to the Distant Origin Theory, some of Earth's dinosaurs belonging to the hadrosaurgenus survived the mass extinction 65 million years ago. Although the dominant reptile superorder was almost wiped out, these surviving dinosaurs continued to develop, likely on a secluded, by now destroyed landmass. Sometime thereafter, they possibly became one of the first interstellar species in the galaxy when they leave Earth and travel to the Delta Quadrant, laying the foundation for the Voth civilization. The recorded history and identity of the Voth began about 20 million years ago, at which point they already considered themselves a race indigenous to the Delta Quadrant. (VOY: "Distant Origin")

While Dr. Forra Gegen suggests this hypothesis for the origin of the Voth, Cmdr. Chakotay later theorizes that the Voth's ancestors left before the extinction event, the impending catastrophe being what motivated them to do so in the first place.

Adult Voth were slightly taller than adult Humans and had six clawed, manipulatory digits (three on each hand). Their eyes were protected by heavy, bony brow ridges, which had a central crest rising to a conical protrusion on the back of the skull. This extra area may account for the Voth having larger cranial capacity than Humans; cranial capacity of a typical Voth was twenty-two percent more than that of a Human. Most importantly, they had forty-sevengenetic markers that were identical to Humans and many Terran creatures throughout Earth's history.

The Voth were capable of entering into hibernative states to protect themselves from harm. Their superior sense of smell was achieved through the dilitus lobe, which allowed them to enjoy the sulfur pools of Hokath. The Voth were also able to fire spines, from an area on the lower arm, which had a paralytic effect. (VOY: "Distant Origin")

The Voth were governed by a Ministry of Elders. At the heart of their society lay their Doctrine, their guiding principles, which specified that the Voth had been the first lifeforms in the Delta Quadrant, and that they had originated in that area of space. In addition, another clause declared that non-indigenous beings had no rights. Heresy against Doctrine was an arrestable and serious offense.

Doctrine also proclaimed that breaking the transwarp threshold would be dangerous to the Voth and their society. Their civilization was held back millenia as a consequence. However, someone took a chance, and managed to take the civilization into a new era.

The Ministry of Elders arrested Gegen for heresy, accusing him of preaching against Doctrine. Despite Gegen protesting that he was merely conducting a scientific expedition, the Elders tried to accuse him of being reckless, that his "casual theorizing" was damaging the Doctrine, intentionally or otherwise. Scientists loyal to the Elders wanted to say that although the data was compelling, Gegen's interpretations weren't clear. The Elders were reluctant to punish Gegen as such, but were more concerned about getting him to retract his claims. Voth society was not willing to accept such a radical concept – even Gegen's daughter was skeptical of it.

One Voth Elder went as far as to declare that if she accepted this theory, she would be admitting her race had fled in terror from Earth, scratching and clawing their way to the part of space where the Voth now lived on a city ship, that her race had no birthright, no legacy – the concept appalled and disgusted her. CommanderChakotay attempted to persuade her that surviving among some of the fiercest creatures in Earth's history, creating a culture, language and technology, leaving Earth when it faced peril and going into space, and journeying to the Delta Quadrant to start a new life was the definition of the Voth ancestors, the struggle that made the race who they were – was their heritage.

It was not enough; the Ministry of Elders convicted Gegen of heresy, and threatened to imprison him and the crew of the Voyager on a prisoncolony. Gegen could not live with that on his conscience, and retracted his claims to save the crew. (VOY: "Distant Origin")

The Voth also had spatial displacement capabilities, using interphase as a form of cloaking technology that moved their starships or even individuals out of phase. Their personal spatial displacement system could be disrupted by altering a phaser to a dispersion frequency of approximately 1.85 GHz.

The Voth resemble, both conceptually and visually, the Silurian race from Doctor Who, in which the Silurians, like the Voth, are an advanced reptile species who have evolved on Earth before Humanity and have subsequently disappeared. In addition, both Doctor Who and the Silurians and "Distant Origin" use a small, hand-held globe of prehistoric Earth as a plot point. There is also a strong physical resemblance between the costumes and make-up used for the two alien races.

In STO's 2014 Delta Rising expansion, the Voth are allies of the Turei and fight to defend them against a Vaadwaur invasion in the mission "Revelations", allying with the player in a ground battle. However, they remain aloof from subsequently joining the Delta Alliance.